


Change Runs Deep

by ajremix



Category: Hatoful Kareshi | Hatoful Boyfriend
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-28
Updated: 2014-05-28
Packaged: 2018-01-26 20:26:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1701401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ajremix/pseuds/ajremix
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post-BBL.  With the truth ringing in his head, Sakuya is forced to deal with the aftermath.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Change Runs Deep

There was an open sky above them. Huge, dark with clouds wisping on their way and a moon, gibbous and sliding from its apex, shining bright while the stars disappeared in the flood of lights. Somewhere behind the crowd was a huge gray dome but Sakuya wasn't ready to look back at it. Not yet.

Everything around him was a cacophony of noise and birds of authority trying to mold it into some kind of order. The students and faculty were milling about in confusion, parents and bystanders shouting from the sideline and news cameras flashing everywhere in between. Not a human was in sight. Probably all still in St. Pigeonation's, combing it in hopes of finding even one bird to exact their revenge on. He thought of Kawara and Tosaka, frozen in time and unprotected deep within the medical center. Something sick grew in Sakuya's chest at the mere hope no human found them.

"Are you well, Mr. Shirogane?" Nanaki asked and Sakuya hadn't realized he was listing until the little quail shored him up on one side.

His beak moved to form an immediate 'yes' but he paused as the day's events washed over him once again. "I'm not sure." He wasn't even sure of how he should be treating his own teacher after seeing him shoot Doctor Iwamine, seeing him threaten Kawara into another room. How could one day bring a lifetime of grief and fear on so many shoulders? Sakuya almost envied Kawara's indefinite sleep, not having to face the fallout when questions and demands were fresh on everyone's minds.

"Coo coo! (Sakuya's been working hard today. You should rest. Can't run tomorrow if you don't recover well!)"

"Indeed, Hallowed Magician of White. We wouldn't have escaped that vile place had you not persisted in solving this mystery."

Sakuya hadn't noticed when Oko or Anghel approached, gently guiding him against some residential wall to sit. Other students began crowding around them, talking over each other.

"You were the one that got us outta there?"

"Man, I thought you were just pompous, but you really held it together."

"And with that scarecrow thing running around?"

"And what happened to your brother..."

"Thanks for getting us out."

Sakuya just closed his eyes and let their voices wash over him. He was too tired to correct them in his involvement or the events of the day. He would let everyone know he was not responsible for finding their way out, that his use had been little more than an occasional companion to Kawara who he left behind. Enough birds with microphones would demand he tell the story until the words went numb on his tongue. He would let them know the truth then.

"Out of my way, ignoramus! Do you not know who I am? That is my son, the heir to my estate you're attempting to bar me from!"

He didn't have to look up to recognize the speaker, didn't even need to hear the heavy French lilt in his words. Sakuya had learned to be demanding and entitled from the best, after all. He wearily pushed himself back to his feet- of all the things he wished not to deal with right now, this was chief among them. Perhaps he was too tired but he hadn't even felt the stirrings of warm pride as his father called him 'son'. Instead it was just an emptiness because even now he cared more about Sakuya's title as successor than his well being. He excused himself from the circle of schoolmates and met the commanding fantail who had bullied his way through the police line. "Father," he said because he couldn't call him anything else.

"There you are!" He was just as brusque with Sakuya as he was with any other bird. The only difference between talking to- or at -him and the common gull who stood security was a slight lowering of volume. "Why on earth did it take so long for you to come out?"

"I am student council president. It's my duty to see no student," there was only a tremor of a pause, but no one seemed to notice, "was left behind." He could hear somewhere behind him Oko asking about Kawara. Nanaki said something and hopefully whatever it was would be enough because Sakuya didn't have it in him to explain right now.

"You are a mess," his father sounded more disgusted than concerned. "Has no medical personnel seen too you? What moron is in charge? You're _bleeding_!"

Sakuya looked down at himself in surprise. He was dirty, yes, and his feathers were in desperate need of preening but he didn't see- oh. There _was_ blood on him, just spots, noticeable only because his feathers were so white. He wondered, briefly, if they came from Yuuya or the doctor. "I am uninjured. I was checked over when I helped take Doctor Iwamine to an ambulance."

"Speaking of the doctor," his father puffed out his chest angrily, ready for a haughty rant, "what is the meaning behind his treatment? He is a bird of high standing and accomplishment yet he's stood over by police as if he were a criminal!"

Sakuya couldn't stop a hot, angry stab of hurt from sharpening his words, "He was the cause of the situation."

"What? That's impossible!"

"He was directly responsible for the death of," he hesitated, not wanting to group Kawara among the dead or futilely attempt to use Yuuya's name to appeal to his father's sympathies, "the headmaster and two students, indirectly responsible for the death of a third and is why one of my classmates has been forced into isolation." By the end he was glaring up at his father, practically snarling at him. "Doctor Iwamine is an unapologetic murderer and while I do not condone his being shot, I daresay he deserved it!"

"Watch your tone, child," he father bit back, tight and low and Sakuya wanted to scream at him ' _Are you not listening to me_?' Why did Sakuya have to know the truth now? Why did it burrow its way so completely into his brain that it caused everything about his father to shift focus until Sakuya could only see him as narrow-minded, unpleasant and frustratingly self-centered without gradually allowing Sakuya to come to terms with that shift?

He shut his eyes tight and forced it all down. "Forgive me, Father. It has been a trying day."

He sniffed, "I suppose it has been. I trust you have solid evidence of the doctor's involvement? It would not do to just sling slander and accusation about."

Did he have solid evidence? The doctor did confess but the only ones who knew were Sakuya, a genetic throwback, a bird suffering from extreme delusions and a teacher who shot Iwamine due to mental instability. Not the most convincing group should he decide to change his story to the authorities. No wonder he seemed so certain nothing would come of Sakuya's threat. He could only hope that Leone had something concrete. If not, someone would have to comb through the medical center again. Or whatever was left after the humans were done in there.

"Of course," he lied through his beak. "I would not accuse someone you hold in such high regards were that not the case, Father."

Sakuya risked looking over at the partridge in question, wrapped in bandages upon a gurney, two uniformed policebird watching him closely. Iwamine knew about Sakuya's true parentage. Would he try to use that to his advantage? Attempt to bribe Sakuya into dropping the charges and destroying any evidence in exchange for keeping it a secret?

Sakuya's father merely saw Sakuya as a tool, yes- one far more useful than his brothers and sister who had only ever achieved mediocrity -but in the end it was Sakuya that needed his father more than the other way around. He wasn't strong enough to survive on his own like Tosaka or connected enough like Yuuya. Without his father's resources, Sakuya would be at a loss. He wouldn't be able to keep his promise to cure Kawara. If his father threw him out Sakuya would have, literally, nothing.

No. If the doctor wanted to play that game he was welcome to it. Even without the blood ties, Sakuya was still raised as a Le Bel. He had learned before he could fly how to deal with the media, to spin things in his favor, how to focus attention where and on what he wished. As clever and crafty as Iwamine was, Sakuya doubted he knew how to handle media scrutiny the way Sakuya had been groomed to.

And it was best to start on the offensive now. "Father, may I request that the Le Bel family organize the funeral for those lost in this event?"

His father's head reared back. "Whatever for?"

"Our family has backed Doctor Iwamine's research through fundraisers many times in the past and it is all publicly accessible information. If we don't attempt to distance ourselves from him, it may seem that we condone his actions."

The expression on his face was thoughtful but unhappy. "Hm, yes. I will call for the support of the investigation, perhaps begin a fundraiser for the victims."

"Make donations to human-based charities," Sakuya added. "And medical research. Shall I compile a list of appropriate organizations, Father?"

The unhappy lines deepened, but his father didn't argue. Despite his deep-rooted flaws he was no fool. If there was a chance their previous support of the doctor would cause irreparable damage to the family's reputation, Sakuya's father would cut all ties in a heartbeat. "Very well. I have spoken with the authorities, you have permission to go back home. Albert will accompany you in the car."

"Yes, Father." He bowed his head and made his way back to the police tape where students were finally being filtered out to their families and Albert stood with his black feathers absorbing the light around him. He was as still as a statue in all but his head, moving in quick, tiny shifts in order to watch for any additional signs of danger. Sakuya wondered if Albert felt anything when he heard of what was happening in the school, if he was worried that something else would kill Sakuya before he was allowed to. The thought, as foolish as it was, gave him comfort.

Upon entering the car Sakuya told the driver they would be making a stop at the hospital.

"Which one, Master Sakuya?"

He frowned- he hadn't thought to ask Kawara and likely the only other one who knew would've been Tosaka. He reached for his phone- reception back in full -and searched for low-income hospitals in the area near where he believed Kawara to live. He didn't even know why his mother was there to begin with. How foolish of him not to think of what pertinent information he was missing until now.

It took a few moments but Sakuya eventually narrowed it down to two likely hospitals. If neither provided fruitful he would call the others in the morning. He gave the driver the first of the addresses before sitting back, ignoring Albert's silent presence at his side. He wondered what kind of bird Kawara's mother was like. Kind, perhaps. Attentive. Probably doted on her son as much as he did her. It would likely break her heart to hear what had become of him.

Sakuya's mind wandered to his own mother. He had always thought, as much as he attempted to ignore it, that she seemed sad and distant. Did she like him at all? His father only cared out of necessity, but what about his mother? When she looked at him did she see a son? Or could she only think about the child she had sentenced to death and the one she had turned into a murderer?

His heart grew heavier and heavier as they drove through the poorer section of town. He wanted to resent Yuuya's secret that was now weighing him down, making him second guess everyone around him, making him realize how truly alone he was in the world. Yuuya, Tosaka, Kawara- the only ones he felt could possibly care for him beyond his lineage were all gone now and even though Sakuya could rebuild his life, mold himself with this new knowledge into something beyond what his father was attempting, it was still a lonely, empty path.

The car slowed to a halt before a hospital and Sakuya stepped out with Albert a looming, protective shadow. One day he would be able to look into a mirror and not see what he no longer was, he would be able to see something beyond that which he used to deride. It might take weeks, even years, but it would happen. One day Sakuya would be able to look into a mirror and see only himself and that, if nothing else, would be a victory.


End file.
